Under 13-year-old Kim, a fire blazes when he climbs onto the roof through a window on August 13. A few minutes earlier, in the garage below him, a spark spread to an accumulation of pyrotechnics during manual work. The flames are making their way to the top of the building, everything is moving very quickly. It was hot that day, the thermometer showed more than 30 degrees. In the afternoon, when Kim climbs onto the roof, he touches the sun-heated roof with the palms of his hands.
The boy suffered serious burns. He also gets a deep gash on one foot when he hangs on the roof hooks. The wounds are painful, but he is courageous. His mother, Nathalie Dellwo-Schwartz, admires him for this. She sat next to him in the hospital during his treatment and suffered with him. Her son reportedly told her: “Mom, stop crying.” After all, he is the one suffering from his injuries, not her. Today his hands and foot are healed.
If the situation was not more serious for the 13-year-old boy, it is perhaps also thanks to Mike Dickes. The firefighter happened to be in the neighborhood. When he sees the boy in bad shape, he decides to climb onto the roof himself to help him. He asks the neighbors if he can come into their house, goes up the stairs and out the window on the top floor.
The right reaction
Thierry, Kim’s father, reacts quickly when the spark in his garage spreads to the pyrotechnic equipment. He rushes into the house to get Léo, 8 years old, out. The two escape outside through the veranda. At the same time, upstairs, Thierry shouts to his son Kim to stay there.
Kim grabs her favorite stuffed animal, a gift from her recently deceased grandmother, and throws it out the window. Everything was already “black” at that point, which is why he turned on the smartphone flashlight. Kim then moves a cabinet under the skylight so she can climb onto the roof. “He put his t-shirt over his mouth, he did really well,” says Nathalie who adds: “he’s my hero.”
Nathalie’s son, Kim, protected his favorite stuffed animal from the flames. © PHOTO: Nathalie Dellwo-Schwartz
Nathalie learns of the fire through a phone call from her husband, while she is on her way home from work. On the way, she is stopped by the police and walks home for what seems like half an hour. “It was horrible,” she said. She didn’t know how her family was doing.
Her youngest son, Léo, suffered shock and was poisoned by smoke, her husband Thierry broke a toe in the rush. The house cat, Mik, was only found in the evening. Thierry, the father, came home with his brother and looked for his slippers under the sofa, where Mik was also waiting for him.
Following the fire, Kim’s stuffed animal was also missing, but only for a day. A firefighter took the stuffed animal home to wash it and then bring it back to the family. The latter stayed for a short week in a hotel in Mondercrange, then she moved into a furnished apartment in Foetz, which belongs to acquaintances who are still waiting to sell it.
Great gratitude
“We are starting from scratch there,” continues Nathalie, speaking of her family home in Mondercrange. The family lost almost everything. When questioned, the mother explains that the photo albums are still there, but that they have taken on a yellowish color and that they smell of fire. Only a few clothes that belonged to him remain, which remain impregnated with the smell of fire. And she adds: “My shoes all went up in smoke.”
In the days and weeks following the tragedy, however, the family received a lot of support from friends, neighbors and work colleagues. “They supported us with everything and didn’t hesitate to help us empty the place.” Nathalie contacted the Luxembourg word for this reason, because she didn’t know how to thank all these people.
A few hours after the fire, Sheila Hamélius, a friend of Nathalie, launched a fundraiser. 14,403 euros were collected through this, 207 people made a donation. A family from Niederkorn had also launched a call for donations on Facebook, says Nathalie.
But the desire to help did not stop at donating money. Work colleagues helped Nathalie and her family, bringing them “everything they needed” at the hospital. Every week she received an envelope of money. A work colleague, now retired, replaced her for a month and worked voluntarily and for free, says Nathalie.
Donations were also collected through the municipal association “Monnerech helleft”. A sum which also benefited the two adjoining houses which also suffered damage. By April or May next year, the family of four is expected to return to their home.
This article was originally published on the website of Luxembourg word.
Adaptation: Laura Bannier
